Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Whole Body, Including Diffusion, in the Medical Evaluation of Breast Cancers at High Risk for Metastasis and the Follow-up of Metastatic Cancers

Whole-body MRI including diffusion is a booming technique. Numerous studies have demonstrated its interest in metastatic cancers. Breast cancers, especially hormone-sensitive ones, are very osteophilic and bones are the most frequent metastatic site. Apart from morphological criteria (lesion size and RECIST criteria), MRI provides quantitative functional criteria (diffusion and ADC values). According to a recent study, whole body MRI is as good as PET/CT and more effective than bone scintigraphy for the diagnosis of bone metastases for cancers of breast and prostate with a high metastatic risk. Therefore, it seems appropriate to study the performance of whole body MRI in the pre-therapeutic assessment of breast cancer with a high risk for metastasis and the monitoring of metastatic breast cancer.